What is a Community Apiary?
A community apiary is a place where a group of people set up a collective of bee hives. Many community gardens around the country are setting up apiaries to pollinate their garden plots. There are any number of ways to set up a community apiary. I launched a teaching community apiary at Awbury Arboretum in 2012. Our community apiary ties in with our beekeeping classes and environmental field studies for public, charter and home schools. Beekeeping students and school students have an opportunity to learn more about the importance of honey bees. Adult students discover beekeeping as an essential craft in community. It's loads of fun.
At a time when such an important indicator species in on the brink of an extinction event, starting a community apiary is a very powerful, very timely action to take. I became a beekeeper solely because my own spirit was deeply troubled when I first read about Colony Collapse Disorder. I also wrote a children's book and invented an educational board game and curriculum to move education about honey bees forward -- to make a difference, and to make it matter. SlowBeekeeping.Org is the next step in the journey for me. If our paths cross, I hope some of your steps will accompany mine as we all work to conserve these amazing, intelligent, powerful, sacred beings who bring us so much of our daily food.
At a time when such an important indicator species in on the brink of an extinction event, starting a community apiary is a very powerful, very timely action to take. I became a beekeeper solely because my own spirit was deeply troubled when I first read about Colony Collapse Disorder. I also wrote a children's book and invented an educational board game and curriculum to move education about honey bees forward -- to make a difference, and to make it matter. SlowBeekeeping.Org is the next step in the journey for me. If our paths cross, I hope some of your steps will accompany mine as we all work to conserve these amazing, intelligent, powerful, sacred beings who bring us so much of our daily food.
Junior Beekeeping Online Course
Visualize World Bees educational board game for Ages 8+
Children learn to play together as a team while learning about an important environmental concern -- the fate of our honey bees!
Cooperation over competition, sharing, supporting mutual goals, connecting value to caring for the earth -- no one wins unless we all win -- this fun and visually beautiful game and associated teacher's guide has been approved as a soft science curriculum for use in Philadelphia public schools. Professional development for your elementary school is optional -- share the game between multiple classrooms or schedule a two-hour game play lesson with teacher's materials available as a download for pre-play session assignments.
Cooperation over competition, sharing, supporting mutual goals, connecting value to caring for the earth -- no one wins unless we all win -- this fun and visually beautiful game and associated teacher's guide has been approved as a soft science curriculum for use in Philadelphia public schools. Professional development for your elementary school is optional -- share the game between multiple classrooms or schedule a two-hour game play lesson with teacher's materials available as a download for pre-play session assignments.
What's a Hive Steward?
At Green Sanctuary Community Apiary at Awbury Arboretum, after taking one of our beekeeping courses new beekeepers decide whether it's the right time to set up and care for your own beehive. If the timing isn't quite right, or you don't feel quite ready to manage a beehive on your own -- or perhaps you live in an apartment or condo where keeping a hive isn't allowed -- then you can sign up as an apiary Hive Steward. All of our Hive Stewards are volunteers. We share in the work, the expenses, and the amount of time it takes to keep multiple colonies healthy. When we take honey from our bees, we take very little, leaving our bees ample stores for winter survival. We each get a small share of the honey harvest. This system works beautifully, so we are glad to be a model for other apiaries in our area and even in other states.
We set up hives on properties of honey bee and beekeeping supporters who are comfortable having bees but don't want to care for bees themselves. Owners get a share of the honey and Hive Stewards receive a small stipend for travel expenses. This is a marvelous cooperative learning environment as 'newbeeks' become experienced beekeepers.
Interested in setting up a community apiary? You can book a consultation with Anaiis Salles on how to start your Hive Steward Program or community apiary. Beekeeping is becoming very popular with community gardens for pollination and enhanced harvest yields while honey bee colonies are safer because exposure to chemical and pesticides spraying is minimal.
We would love to help you get started. Send us an email or just purchase and download our guide to creating a community apiary.
Interested in setting up a community apiary? You can book a consultation with Anaiis Salles on how to start your Hive Steward Program or community apiary. Beekeeping is becoming very popular with community gardens for pollination and enhanced harvest yields while honey bee colonies are safer because exposure to chemical and pesticides spraying is minimal.
We would love to help you get started. Send us an email or just purchase and download our guide to creating a community apiary.
We love comments and questions. Become a member of SlowBeekeeping.Org! Get the eNewsletter!
